It's a Lean, Mean Mystery Machine
by Jazzola
Summary: A story about a mystery surrounding a car show. Some F/D, and it includes James May from Top Gear and quite a few cars I like. This is my own plot. Part of my series, rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Velma, leaning back in her chair, typed "Ohio events" into her search box and waited for the results to come through. It was a while since anything had happened to Mystery Inc. now, as their last case had been two months ago, and the gang were beginning to stagnate.

As usual, very little was coming up. A farmer's convention, a writer's convention, a business thing, something for some organisation or another, something to do with raccoon conservation… but nothing that would be of any remote interest to the four teens and dog.

And then a hyperlink caught Velma's beady eye.

_Ohio Vehicles Show_.

Curious, Velma moved the cursor over and clicked, going through to a brightly-coloured homepage with pictures of several vehicles on stage or being driven in a huge, equally bright show ring. She scrolled down, browsing. Several attractions jumped out at her as being of interest to particular members of the gang… Famous Cars Through History, such as the car Bonnie and Clyde were shot in, the original Beetle that played Herbie, Barack Obama's armoured car, a lot of cars and such that Velma was interested in. An exhibition by Ferrari and Chevrolet, showing supercars and the vehicles that had sold the most models. Daphne would like the Ferraris, and the Mystery Machine was a Chevrolet, so at least they would feel at home there. Cars from famous movies, such as the Mini Coopers from _The Italian Job_, James Bond's Aston Martin DB9, and the Dodge Charger from _The Dukes of Hazzard_. Shaggy and Scooby, the movie addicts who loved chowing down piles of food whilst watching a movie, would like that, especially if there was a buffet. And Fred, being a typical boy, would like pretty much everything.

Grinning, Velma reached for her phone on the side of the desk, preparing to text the others and get some opinions on her suggested gang outing.


	2. Chapter 2

Two days later and the Mystery Machine rattled (it was in need of some repairs) into the car park for the Ohio Vehicle Show, which was already fairly full and with some very distinguished vehicles in it. Daphne sighed over a red convertible Ferrari, the height of romantic vehicles (according to her), Fred looked very wistful passing an apple-green Lamborghini with a white stripe that looked like it had been beamed down from the moon next to the Ford Fiesta and Renault Megane on either side of it, and Shaggy and Scooby stared at a sleek silver car which was called a Koenigsegg and which was having its photo taken by a group of eager middle-aged men with Subaru-branded polo shirts. Several people were pointing at a man walking through the doors as the gang approached, although he looked very ordinary to the gang; just a middle-aged man wearing a floral shirt, old-fashioned grey blazer and jeans and with shoulder-length greyish-brown hair. According to a poster on the large notice board a little way in, the man's name was James May and he was going to be judging which was the best car or van in the exhibition. The poster also said that he was a presenter on a British car show and that he was quite famous in Britain.

"Like, why have a British judge for an American vehicle show?" Shaggy asked, peering at the poster. Velma smiled.

"Why not? He speaks English, doesn't he?"

Shaggy shrugged, nonplussed, and they carried on into the exhibition.

The main hall that they walked into was already full of people, all looking at an exhibition of old cars called Morgans. A huge banner proclaimed that the owner of the cars, a man called Harold Marchbanks, was in the exhibition and showing his cars there as a favour. The Marchbanks exhibition was charity. There were a lot of people clustered round the cars, and there were a lot of people clustered round Harold Marchbanks himself, who was standing next to his exhibition in a dark suit and kept rubbing his comb-over to try and cover the large bald spot on his head. Privately, Shaggy thought he had as much chance of covering the bald spot as the Mystery Machine did of spontaneously transforming into an off-roader. It didn't go unnoticed that Harold Marchbanks shot a look of pure venom at James May as he walked over to the podium next to the doors and started talking with one of the staff members about his judging competition. Velma's eyes narrowed, but at the time she thought nothing of it.

Predictably, the gang split up as soon as they were inside. Velma headed straight for the "Famous Vehicles Through History". Fred and Daphne, who decided to stay together, went into the "Ferrari and Chevrolet Exhibition". Shaggy and Scooby headed for the sign they had hoped to see: "Famous Movie Vehicles and Buffet". The others grimaced as they left, and silently pitied the buffet staff; they wouldn't know what had hit them.

Then, as always, the mystery began.

The doors screeched open, and something bombed through them, skidded round with the anguished squealing of four tortured tyres, and faced the exit again.

It was a huge, black car, with a shape a little like the Koenigsegg from the car park, but a million times more ghostly and ethereal. The car glowed eerily in the slightly dimmed light in the hall, and the driving seat was made of bones. But the fact that it was empty was more disturbing. The steering wheel moved with no arms to guide it, and seemingly no person to steer the thing; but it moved, with a hateful certainty, and people were screaming and running from the thing as though even the sight of it would harm them. Harold Marchbanks was hiding inside one of his Morgans, trying to shrink out of view as best he could and relying on the Morgan to hide him. James May, on the other side of the hall, was being shielded by the group of men in Subaru polo shirts, although there was no doubt that if it was May that the supernatural vehicle was after, they would be little defence. No voice issued from the thing, but the engine seemed to rumble its warning, and the only people who remained in the vicinity of the car were either the men guarding James May or were simply petrified on the spot and unable to move.

The car revved again, and then flew towards the doors with twice the force that it had entered with. The speed it was now doing made its previous speed seem dignified and relaxed. The people in the hall held their breath.

But thankfully, no people were on the other side of the doors, which were ripped savagely from their hinges as the car surged through the doorway with the force of some kind of fighter aircraft. The car vanished from sight of the people in the hall.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the Subaru men turned and said almost as one, "You OK, mate?" to James May, who assured them that he was and walked towards the door marked "Staff" looking both bemused and amused.

The gang looked round at each other, silently stunned. Then Shaggy and Scooby shook their heads firmly.

"Like, uh uh. No way. Not gonna happen, guys!"

"Well, what else can we do?" Fred asked. "We're supposed to solve mysteries, it's what we do!"

"I agree," Daphne said, nodding firmly. "I'm in."

"And me," Velma added.

"Like, please tell me we get the casting vote…" Shaggy whimpered. Velma looked amused.

"Uh uh, guys; the casting vote goes to the leader…"

She turned to Fred.

"Well, Freddy?"

He glared at her.

"You only did that so Shaggy and Scooby would blame me for having to solve this mystery, Velma!"

"Foul play, Dinkley," Daphne said, grinning.

"All right," Velma said, smiling in spite of herself. "I take the casting vote, seeing as the leader doesn't want to. I say we solve this mystery!"

"Like, thanks a lot, Velms," Shaggy sighed, defeated. "Next time, like, we get the casting vote, guys, it has to be a different person every time… like, we should use that as a system, because then we can get out of two out of every five mysteries… uh… guys?"

The rest of the gang was walking towards the broken doors and in the direction of where the car had gone. Shaggy and Scooby sighed as one, and in their usual reluctant way walked after their friends, resigned to this new mystery and wishing they had never agreed to the outing in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

"The car must have gone down there," Daphne said, pointing to a small road that led to a fork. "Look, there's a little bit of glass from the door."

She pointed to a shard lying in the gravel, clearly marked out as being from the door by the strip of black plastic reading "veh" in small letters, from the logo that read "Ohio vehicle show". Fred studied it as well and nodded.

"Yeah. Now we have another problem; which fork did it take?"

The four turned and looked down at the forks. Fred glanced back to the Mystery Machine, which was parked behind them.

"I guess someone should follow one fork in the Mystery Machine, and someone should go down the other fork on foot."

"Like, no way," came from the most likely source of the phrase. Velma rolled her eyes and Daphne sighed.

"What is it now, Shag?"

"Like, we may have been voted into solving this mystery, but we're not being split up as well! Like, every single mystery, we have to split up, and, like, it's not fair on us chickens!"

"Baaawck-bawck-bawck-bawck-bawck-bawck!"

Scooby began prancing around, doing his chicken impression, and Fred sighed.

"OK, Chicken Little and Chicken Shaggy, we'll all go in the van down one fork."

"Like, thank you! Someone who speaks some sense, at last!"

Shaggy nodded at Velma and Daphne, who turned away to hide their giggles.

Fred climbed into the driver's seat and turned the keys in the ignition. A rumble came from the bonnet, but it wasn't the normal engine rumble. It was the rumble that said, "Time for my repairs, Fred…"

"Oh, not now, please, not now…" Fred moaned, turning the key again. Still the rumble that said the van wasn't moving one inch. Fred yanked the key harder and only succeeded in engraving the shape of the key onto his finger.

Finally giving up, he retrieved the toolbox that over time had come to resemble an entire garage out of the back of the Mystery Machine and opened the bonnet.

"Oh, brother…"

"Can you mend it?" Velma asked, hoping that the answer was "yes". In spite of all the experience she had in mysteries, going down that fork on foot, even with the rest of the gang, was daunting.

"No way. Everything's just… I don't understand. It was fine this morning, it made the twenty miles to the hall… No, I can't mend it."

Shaggy and Scooby clung to each other as Fred straightened up and pushed the bonnet back down.

"Sorry, guys. We'll have to go on foot."

He held the keys up and pressed the lock button, but nothing happened to the van. Fred pressed it again, with the same result. The van stayed silent and still.

"Oh, brother…" he repeated, staring at the keys. "It won't even lock. I can't leave it here unlocked, with all our gear inside. Someone'll take the van, our gear, and we've got stuff like the log book and the database in there."

Daphne sighed.

"Freddy, do you practise worrying? It'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Velma asked, looking over at Daphne. Fred pressed the lock button one more time and accepted that it wasn't going to work.

"Oh, I don't know. Call it my women's intuition."

Fred and Velma exchanged unconvinced glances. Shaggy and Scooby just rolled their eyes at each other.

"Go on, guys. What are the chances of someone coming along here, let alone deciding to help themselves to the van?"

Fred glanced at his precious van, then at Daphne, who was pleading with him with her eyes, eager to get going on the mystery. Velma looked between the two, at Daphne, then to Fred, waiting for Fred's decision.

Fred sighed and pocketed the keys to the Mystery Machine.

"Fine. We'll carry on on foot. I just hope the Mystery Machine is still here when we get back."

"It will be," Daphne said, with the confidence that comes with being a sixteen-year-old girl. Fred groaned inwardly, but his decision was made and he wasn't going back on it.

"The only thing is, we have to split up now that we don't have the van, it'll take too much time for us to look down both forks as a group. Shaggy and Scooby, you take that fork. Sorry to disappoint, guys. We'll go this way."

Daphne set off, with Velma in pursuit. Shaggy and Scooby stood firm.

"Like, no way, Freddy. Not down there."

Fred walked back to the van and pulled a very familiar packet from the back of the van.

"Will you do it for a Scooby Snack?" he asked, smiling inwardly at the familiar question.

Shaggy and Scooby stared at the box, mouths open. Shaggy thought for a second.

"Like, for that place, two each, man."

"One each, one to share?" Fred negotiated, shaking the box and holding it up to his ear. It didn't sound like there were many left. Making a mental note to get some more, he held out three in his palm.

"Go on, guys, we're running out."

Shaggy reached forwards and stuffed his Scooby Snack into his mouth, then held one out to Scooby and snapped the other in two.

"Like, here we go again, Scoob… On only one and a half snacks each…"

Fred deliberately looked away from Shaggy's piercing stare and put the box back in his hiding-hole. He wondered if he should take some of the stuff out of the van- small things, maybe his cell phone- then decided Daphne was right, he was worrying too much, and pushed the thought away.

"Off you go, guys."

Shaggy and Scooby walked dejectedly away, discussing the availability of Scooby Snacks in low voices.

Fred walked a few paces away from the Mystery Machine, then stopped and turned round. The noble thing seemed old and feeble and weak suddenly, waiting behind him. He wanted to stay with it so badly, make sure it wasn't stolen, but he needed to follow the girls as well.

With a small, inward sigh, he turned away from the creature and followed Daphne and Velma, who were waiting a couple of hundred yards away for him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Like, next time, we are firm, Scoob! We were tricked by Freddy again, and that should stop now! Like, maybe the Ohio Gazette would be interested in the plight of two of the members of Mystery Inc… the starvation…"

"Reah, reah! Rand re Rinrierer!"

"Like, yeah, Scoob, and the Inquirer! Like, we'll drum up so much attention… but, like, how would we do it without making our friends look too bad? Like, at least Freddy did give us one each… and he let us split one… Like, we should make out that the guys can't afford them, Scoob! We'll say that the prices are too high, and then they'll either lower the prices and the guys will buy more, or they'll give us loads of Scooby Snacks free and we'll, like, have a bonanza, man!"

"Raggy. Rit's ron rollar rifty rer rox."

"Like, I know it's one dollar fifty per box, but, like, this is about the attention, the sympathy… like, we're super-skinny already… like, the Starving Dog and Boy of Mystery Inc. talk to the press about their terrible situation… I bet we could get, like, a sponsor to get us more Scooby Snacks…"

"Raggy," Scooby sighed, shaking his head and letting his friend go on without interruption.

They walked further and further away from their starting point, deeper and deeper into what Scooby guessed was some kind of wood. After a couple of kilometres, the road petered off and they were left with a dirt track, covered in brambles and with the occasional tree in the middle of it. Shaggy barely noticed the change in road conditions; he was too busy practicing his speech and what the rest of the gang should say for the Ohio Gazette.

"And, like, at one dollar fifty, we, the Mystery Inc. gang, are incapable of providing ourselves and, more importantly, Shaggy and Scooby with the correct amount of Scooby Snacks due to them… like, Freddy should say that… and then Daphne can say something about how well-paid mysteries are and that if we can't afford to buy them in the quantities we need, then nobody can afford to buy them in the proper amounts… and Velma can just look wistful for the camera… and, like, I can be… ZOINKS!"

Shaggy, oblivious to the brambles on the track, had caught his foot in one. Scooby sniggered as Shaggy wiped a little dirt off his face and struggled to stand up.

"Like, thanks for your support, Scoob!"

Shaggy stood properly up and dusted himself down.

Behind them, an engine rumbled.

"Like, d'you think Freddy stayed with the van and managed to get it going again, Scoob, because, like, otherwise that sounds way too similar to… the… phantom… car…"

Slowly, with expressions of terror on their faces, Shaggy and Scooby turned in unison to face the glowing, skeleton-seated car behind them.

"ZOINKS!"

"RIKES!"

The two turned and sped at full speed towards the trees, but the car was so much quicker with its huge engine and in a flash it was between them and the trees, standing like an ethereal sentinel with its dark sheen and driverless horror. Shaggy and Scooby yelled again in unison and started running in the opposite direction, but the car sped after them and once again cornered them, stopping them from getting into their sanctuary of the trees and relative protection from the huge car, and trapping them because of their lack of speed compared to the car. The nightmarish vehicle was playing cat and mouse with Shaggy and Scooby, and they were scared witless as the huge thing flashed past them at speeds they had certainly never experienced in the Mystery Machine.

Eventually, and after many, many more chases, the thing seemed to decide they were no longer worth teasing, because it screamed away from them into the darkness.

Shaggy had trouble reading his watch in the gloom that had come down while they had been running for their lives from the car.

"Like, what's the time, Scooby Doo?"

Scooby peered over at the watch on Shaggy's wrist, but even with his acute canine eyesight couldn't make out the time.

"Rate!"

"Like, I know it's late, Scoob, but how late? Will the guys be worried by now?"

"Reah!"

"OK, like, let's go back… like, which way is back?"

"Rar rent rat ray."

"Like, yeah, the car went that way, so that must be the way back… I think…"

Scooby looked a little doubtful, but since they had very little to go on but Shaggy's shaky logic, they went with it and followed the tracks the car from hell had left.


	5. Chapter 5

"Like, oh boy…"

Shaggy and Scooby, who miraculously had managed to go the right way and find their way back to the fork, were both staring with similar incredulous and afraid expressions on their faces.

The tracks the Mystery Machine had made were there. But the van wasn't.

"Like, Freddy is gonna be mad…" Shaggy murmured, taking in the area's lack of Mystery Machine. Scooby nodded.

"Raphne rand rer romen's rintuition…"

"Sorry, Scooby?"

Daphne had come up behind the pair, and seemed not to have noticed the van's disappearance. She was glaring at Scooby, her eyes reduced to blue slits.

"The van!" Velma gasped, coming up behind her. Fred was a little way behind, and hearing Velma's words put on a burst of speed and ran into the area, his eyes wide as he saw its lack of Mystery Machine.

Daphne looked up from Scooby and registered the fact that the van wasn't there.

"Oh my gosh, where did the van go?"

She turned on Shaggy and Scooby again.

"Guys, is this some kind of trick?"

"How could it be, Daph? They couldn't even move it between them," Fred snapped, venting his temper on Daphne. He walked round and round where the Mystery Machine had been, staring at the ground. When he looked up, he got the full blast of Daphne's glare.

"Oh, so this is all my fault, is it, Fred Jones?"

"Well, if you hadn't used your women's intuition and we had stayed with the van, we wouldn't be in this mess! All the stuff, all our equipment, the database, log book, and the van itself- everything's gone. All because you said that it was perfectly safe to leave the van unlocked and alone while we went off!"

"Don't blame me! Do you think I called this guy and told him to help himself to the Mystery Machine? How could I have foreseen this?"

"Your "women's intuition" said it was OK to leave the van. When we come back, the van's been stolen! What did you tell me, just before we left the van? "What are the chances of someone coming along here, let alone deciding to help themselves to the van?" Well, now you know. High!"

His sarcasm was poisonous, and certainly angered the recipient, who had never taken kindly to being spoken to like that.

Daphne stormed towards him and shoved him hard in the chest, her face screwed up in anger. He stumbled backwards, but regained his balance and pushed her away, shoving back and angrier than any of the gang had ever seen him. She tried to trip him, but instead he pushed her and she fell onto the tarmac. She stood up, spitting hair out of her mouth and ready to carry on fighting, but he stormed away and down the fork they had been investigating. The rest of the gang stood stunned in the wake of the fight.

Daphne made to go after Fred, but Velma grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Daph, no. You both need to cool down. Let him have five minutes."

Daphne glared after his retreating back, but her expression turned to guilt.

"I shouldn't have trusted my intuition… I should have said that I'd stay with the van or something… we didn't even find anything down there…"

"You can't blame yourself for this, Daph. None of us can."

"Freddy does."

"Freddy's angry because the van is his pride and joy and it's been stolen. He vented his temper on you because you were the best person to vent it on, in his eyes. And you were the first person to speak. I know him accusing you wasn't nice, but you should have backed down. You know how much he loves having the van, even though it's so old and breaks down such a lot. He waited so long to get the van, and spends so much time with it… to him, it feels like having your entire wardrobe stolen would to you. Or the Scooby Snacks factory closing down would to Shaggy and Scooby."

Shaggy and Scooby looked horrified at the mere thought of such a thing happening. Daphne nodded.

"Maybe I should go after him now, say sorry."

"Go on, then. We'll have a look around for the van."

Daphne turned and walked down towards the figure now sitting on a fallen log a few hundred yards away.


	6. Chapter 6

Fred guessed who was approaching when he heard footsteps a little way away. The real giveaway was when Daphne's voice complained that the ground was too soggy for heels.

"Freddy?"

Her voice was tentative, allowing him to walk away or talk with her. Following the fight, he felt a little guilty for blaming her and then fighting her.

"Hi."

She sat down next to him.

"Freddy, I'm- I'm sorry about the Mystery Machine. I should never have trusted my women's intuition. I should never have suggested we leave the van and I shouldn't have fought you. I'm just- I'm sorry."

He faced her for the first time since the fight, properly looking her in the eyes.

"I shouldn't have tried to fight you. Or blame you for the Mystery Machine being stolen. I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm just so angry that someone stole the van, and that we've lost all our gear and everything. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No. Did I hurt you?"

"You'll have to shove harder than that to do any damage."

She laughed quietly.

"I'll get into practice for the next time we have a furious shoving fight after the Mystery Machine gets stolen."

He smiled, but still the loss of the Mystery Machine was like a lead weight hanging over their heads.

"I guess we'd better go back to the others and help with the search."

Daphne nodded.

"Atta boy, Freddy. And I promise I won't fight you again."

"Yeah, well… Me fighting you, there can only be one winner, right?"

She shoved him lightly in mock anger and the two walked away, back towards the van. Or at least, where the van had been.


	7. Chapter 7

Five hours later and it was an hour past midnight, but still Fred was desperately searching the area around the Mystery Machine. It was to no avail. The van was as distant as it had been five hours before.

"Give up, Freddy. The van isn't here," Velma called into the undergrowth where he was searching. He pushed his way out and stood up, the very picture of dejection with his glum expression and a bramble in his hair. Daphne pulled it out, ignoring his yelp of pain as the thorns raked his scalp (after pushing her over, he deserved it), and turned to Velma.

"So where do we go now? We don't have the Mystery Machine to help us out here, and we must be ten miles away from even the Vehicle Show hall. We're all tired out, and walking ten miles- who knows what might happen to us, with that phantom car on the loose?"

Velma looked over towards Shaggy and Scooby, who were etching pictures of ice-cream sundaes, hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza pies into the dirt.

"Well, if we start walking now, I guess we could try and find somewhere to stay the night, but there's no civilization down here."

Even as she said it, a pair of headlamps illuminated the group and a man got out of the car, a Toyota people-carrier.

"Hey, what're you doing down here? And aren't you Mystery Inc.?"

"Yes," Velma replied, "and right now we need some help. Do you think you could give us a lift?"

The man nodded.

"I'm Olli. Why're you down here, anyways?"

"A mystery cropped up for us at the Vehicle Show in Ohio, and we're trying to solve it. Only our van's been stolen."

"The Phantom Car? The whole of Ohio's talking about it by now. Hop in, I'm going back to the Vehicle Show- I'm one of the staff there. I just came to pick up a spare part from my garage; one of the vehicles for the show has turned up in a real bad way. These old Chevrolet vans are so unreliable…"

Fred gave a small sigh and got into the back of the people-carrier. Velma followed him into the warm interior, knowing that he was thinking of another Chevrolet van that wasn't the most reliable vehicle in the world.


	8. Chapter 8

Half an hour later and the people-carrier arrived at the exhibition, dropping the gang off at the entrance and the driver taking the spare part into the exhibition itself. He glanced round nervously as he entered the building, and seemed edgy as he walked in. James May walked out after a while and walked up to the gang.

"So, you're investigating this phantom car that everyone's talking about, are you?" he asked, looking at Fred through his curtains of spaniel-like hair. Fred nodded.

"Like, you saw it, didn't you, man?" Shaggy asked, looking a little confused.

"I'm not sure what I saw," James May replied evenly. "Have you got a car or something to get you back?"

Fred shook his head ruefully.

"It's a long story."

"Oh," James May said, smiling at them. "I see. Well, why don't you get a taxi?"

"They don't run this time on Mondays," Velma said.

"Hmm. Mobile phones?"

Fred shook his head.

"They were in the van when it was stolen- don't ask."

"Well, why don't you sleep in the exhibition, just for tonight?"

Shaggy and Scooby stared at him, seemingly incredulous.

"Like, sleep in a haunted vehicle show hall? Guys, like, there must be some way of getting home…"

Velma sighed at them.

"Shaggy, it's half past one in the morning, there are no taxis, home is twenty miles away, the bus won't be running and we have no way of contacting anyone at home- unless we could use your phone or a phone in the hall?" she asked James May, who shook his head.

"It's just me, Olli and the night guard here, and I have no idea where he is. My mobile phone doesn't work in America, Olli doesn't have one and the only other phone here is in the office, which has a magnetic time-lock on the door. I'm sorry."

Daphne looked over at Fred, who was looking at the smashed doors at the front of the hall.

"It's not ideal, but what choice do we have?"

Velma turned and started thanking James May, who went in to get some beds organized. Fred went to help him, and Shaggy and Scooby trailed behind, wishing that they were safely at home and that they weren't going to have to spend the night in the haunted vehicle hall.


	9. Chapter 9

Five beds lay side-by-side in one of the small storerooms in the hall, with duvets and the lack of light hiding the occupants. There was a lock on the door, and the key to the door lay on the small table next to one of the beds.

Velma found herself thinking about the Mystery Machine, and unable to sleep. She was certain that, as they were in the midst of a mystery, the van hadn't been stolen by a random thief. One, they had been too far away from any proper civilization. Two, it was the most distinctive van in Ohio; a thief would have no chance of getting it away or selling it without the police being alerted, unless they had re-sprayed it where it had stood and switched the registration plates as well. That was just about impossible, since there were no traces of paint or any plate-switching elements around where the van had been. Three, the van was stolen just as they found a new mystery to pursue? There was no way that was pure coincidence. Not with all the other elements added in, or even on its own.

Velma's ears, in her semi-drowsy state, began picking up little sounds that normally she would have ignored or not even noticed. A faint rustle as Fred turned over in his sleep, the hum of the air-conditioning, Scooby barking quietly in a dream and twitching his paws under the sheet, the sound of a car door deliberately being opened as quietly as possible, the beeping of a magnetic time lock, the sound of a turbocharged engine revving in the car park…

_A turbocharged engine revving?!_

Velma sat bolt upright, staring at the door.

It came again, louder, and hideously similar to the engine in the phantom car.

It must be the phantom car.

Not pausing, she reached over and shook Fred and Daphne awake simultaneously, then reached over Fred as he looked up sleepily and shook Shaggy and Scooby as well.

"What's happening?" Daphne protested, her hands in her hair and frantically smoothing down any flyaway hairs. The revving came again and she gasped.

"That's not…"

"It is," Fred muttered, even in the dim light clearly pale. Velma was suddenly hatefully aware of their situation; trapped in a small room, with the wooden double doors offering very little resistance should the car decide to come into the room, and effectively helpless. They were confined to the building, and going through a wrecked doorway after the car had gone through it was not a good idea.

The three members of the gang who were awake jumped out of the beds and grabbed possessions from the floor. The two who weren't, predictably, were shoved out of their beds by Velma, who physically grabbed their things and shoved them at them, then turned back to dressing herself.

The gang, finally fully awake, rushed through the double doors and into the hall, only to find themselves face to face- well, face to bonnet- with the phantom car.

Daphne screamed. The car surged forwards, lunging at the members of the gang, who ran in all directions trying to evade it. The scene might have looked comical to a spectator, but to the gang it was a matter of staying alive, or being run over. The thing had speed uncountable times more than they had, and four people and a dog against a car will never be an easy battle. Several times the gang were thrown to the floor by the phantom car clipping their legs; Fred came within an inch of the car running over his hand and Shaggy had the car run over his hair, a terrifying experience for him and for the rest of the gang, who thought his head would be run over. Blind luck saved Shaggy.

But then the car found itself a helpless victim. Velma was crouched in a corner, with no means of escape and the car facing her from the other side of the hall. Daphne screamed again, and Shaggy covered his eyes with his hands, unable to look, thinking that his friend's life had come to an end…

The car smashed into the wall, and Velma, applying her usual mix of brains and logic to the situation, had crouched as far down as possible, protecting her head and her chest. The last thing she saw was the glint of a camera lens mounted on the car, and then plaster rained onto her, and by a stroke of luck as extreme as Shaggy's had been good, a huge chunk fell onto the back of her neck and knocked her out. It looked to the onlookers as though she had been run over, although she couldn't be seen clearly through the plaster, and Fred yelled in shock, a move that couldn't have been prevented and was unwise. The car, also thinking that it had killed its prey, turned and faced the rest of the gang, knowing where they were hiding because of Fred's exclamation.

But, for some reason known only to itself, the car suddenly faced the entrance and screeched away into the night, abandoning the group and leaving only a trail of destruction and a few skid marks behind.

As soon as it was gone, the four left their hiding place and ran over to Velma, who was motionless on the floor. Fred held two fingers to her neck, remembering seeing people doing that on hospital dramas on TV, and felt a faint rhythm coming from it.

"She's got a pulse."

Daphne nodded and they both looked down at Velma's torso, trying to work out if she was breathing. They could see the steady up-down of it.

"And she's breathing," Daphne murmured. "Is she injured, Freddy?"

Fred felt a little stupid. He had no expertise in this, having never done anything like first aid at school or anywhere else; on the football pitch he was normally the one having the first aid done to him. He made a mental note to sign up for some kind of course or something as soon as this was over, and looked over her body. By some miracle, she had escaped unscathed, and it showed.

"I don't think so, but I don't know…"

Daphne looked as well.

"She looks OK to me. You pick her head end up, I'll do her legs. One… two… three…"


	10. Chapter 10

A strange ceiling swam above Velma's head as she groggily opened her eyes. Her glasses weren't on her face, and the ceiling was too far away for her to make it out properly. Someone was holding an ice pack to her forehead, and someone else was saying, "Velma? Velma? You there?"

Then her glasses landed back on her face, and people swam into focus; Fred was the one holding the ice pack, Daphne was the one talking to her, leaning over her with a worried look on her face, and Shaggy and Scooby were peering at her with equally concerned expressions. The faces of all four were distressed and curious, so she felt she should assure them. She felt fine, apart from a huge headache, and was grateful for the ice pack.

"Guys, I'm fine. I don't know how, but I am. Thanks for the ice pack, Freddy."

The faces of each member of the gang changed from anxiety to relief so quickly that Velma almost laughed.

"Like, we thought the car had run you over, man," Shaggy said quietly. Daphne made a noise halfway between a sob and a hiccup.

"Seriously, I'm fine."

Scooby barked as someone walked in, but as he walked under a light the gang recognised him as Olli, the guy with the people-carrier, and after a few seconds they saw that he was flanked by James May, who looked so pale that he seemed ill.

"Oh my goodness…"

Both men rushed over as soon as they saw what had happened. Olli was clearly fresh from repairing the latest damage that the car had done, as he was pulling off workmen's gloves and there were a few tiny shards of glass in his hair. He brushed his hand over the dark thatch on top of his head and glass shards sprinkled down like confetti.

"Are you OK?" he asked quickly. Velma smiled.

"I'm getting used to being asked that! Yes, I'm fine."

"Would someone tell me what's happened here?" James May asked, looking both confused and worried. The gang told both men what had happened, and by the time they had finished both looked horrified.

"We should cancel the Vehicle Show," Olli said, looking over at James May. "You wouldn't mind, would you, Mr May? I mean, not after being attacked and nearly run over by that phantom car."

James May rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful, but Velma butted in.

"The phantom car went for James May?"

"It damn near killed him," Olli said, shuddering so that his dark spiky hair trembled. "It's tried to get him before, as well."

"I am protected," James May replied. "I'm still here, aren't I, Olli?"

"I still say the show should be cancelled before someone is killed. It'll probably bankrupt us, but it's better than someone dying. And if James May died while he was here, that would be the end forever. Nobody would ever come again. There would never be another show. Fifty-seven years this show's been run, and we've never had any problems. My dad was the founder."

"Well, I don't really see why we should close it, Olli. Maybe if these kids can catch that car…"

Olli stared at James, his eyes disbelieving.

"Mr May, there is no way these kids can catch a phantom car! There are four of them-"

"Rahem!"

"-four kids and a dog-"

"Rank rou!"

"-and they are against a rogue, ghost-powered car, which from what I can see is quite capable of injuring people."

James May looked round at the gang.

"But- well, from what I've heard about you, this should be something you can solve."

Fred snapped his fingers suddenly, making Olli jump and swerve round, thinking it was the phantom car.

"Sorry, Olli. But I've got a plan!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Since we can't do anything to the car…"

Daphne nodded. This plan was good, definitely a lot better than many of Fred's previous plans, albeit this one might cost the Vehicle Show quite a lot of money- approximately enough to buy one Ferrari F430 Scuderia.

"…another car can do what we need to do!"

It was a simple plan. The Ferrari, driven by Fred (nobody else wanted the job), would be driven at the phantom car at speeds enough to damage the phantom car beyond repair. It was the best that Fred could come up with, as the gang were deprived of their usual toys.

"Aim for the front, Freddy, that area's already damaged," Velma advised as Fred got into the Scuderia, remembering her near miss earlier that day. Fred nodded and pulled on his helmet, and Daphne leaned in to help with the four-point harness, which was confusing to put on and generally needed two sets of hands. Daphne clipped one point, and then said, "You can back out now, if you want to."

Fred shook his head, unable to speak properly inside the helmet. Daphne nodded and clipped a second point. He clipped the other two and she grasped his hand for a split second before backing away from the car.

The hall was opened to the public as soon as the gang was ready and the plan was in action, and quickly became half-full of people, watching and waiting. James May was seated behind the podium, and out of sight of anyone. He had been there since that morning, and was well-stocked with some sandwiches and three bags of beef-flavoured Hula Hoops. The aim was to hide him, since the gang had decided that it wasn't them the car was after- it was James May. The reason why was yet to be uncovered. Harold Marchbanks stood next to his Morgan exhibition, looking a little smug. A meeting had been held earlier to decide whether the exhibition should re-open that day, and the gang, accompanied by James May, Olli and Harold Marchbanks, had persuaded the others to keep it open for their plan to unmask the villain once and for all. They hadn't told anyone what the real plan was, though- they had invented one, with some radio-control thing that seemed plausible to the ears of the committee.

"Just in case they're on the committee," Velma had told the others, winking. Clearly she had her suspect. Fred had nodded, smiling, but the rest of the gang weren't as clued up as they seemed to be.

Since the people of the exhibition were supposed to be oblivious to the plans made by the gang, it had been a little tricky to think up a plausible way to get Fred into the car and the car into the hall, ready for the phantom car, without alerting the visitors to the plan or indeed the person behind the whole plot. James May had dreamed up the solution- Fred was posing as one of the presenters from his British car show, who had apparently been able to fly over at the last minute to participate in the Vehicle Show. This worked perfectly, as this particular presenter- named The Stig- had his identity hidden as part of the show. The people in the hall thought that Mystery Inc. had volunteered to help out at the show, and Daphne reinforced the illusion by saying, "OK, Stig?" Fred nodded once, remembering James May's advice- "Stig doesn't talk, he just nods, walks and drives"- and Daphne gave him one last smile and surreptitiously checked the reinforcement on the front of the Ferrari, for when Fred crashed into the phantom car. He had the whole nine yards in the car- a specially-adapted seat which was newly fitted, additional airbags, the four-point harness (which was the sort used by stuntmen crashing cars), everything that would keep Fred alive. Daphne had insisted on all of it, and Fred had just gone along with her plans, thinking that if it kept him alive, it was good.

Olli stepped up to the microphone on the podium and tapped it, and the familiar sound resonated through the hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, guests of the Ohio Vehicle Show, first we had James May, and now we have a racing legend who is a presenter of the same show. Nobody knows who is behind the visor, but some say his right knee attracts cats, and that if you knew what The Stig knows, you would wake up screaming."

People were laughing all around the hall, recognising the familiar sequence from the car show. Velma couldn't help laughing as she visualised Fred trying to keep a straight face in the Ferrari, and Scooby looked put out about the cat comment.

"All we know is, he's called The Stig, and he's fresh here from Britain!"

Fred revved the Ferrari to cheers and applause from all around the hall.

"The Stig's going to be performing later today, and he should be in his trailer, but he wanted to come out in his Ferrari simply because if he stays in a trailer for too long, he will self-implode and start vomiting petrol."

The people in the hall started laughing again. The gang joined in, and even Fred in the Scuderia hastily stifled laughter, knowing he was the centre of attention.

"I must add that if you go too near to Stig, you will get a rash, so I advise that you keep your distance."

More laughter went through the hall. Harold Marchbanks was the only one not laughing; he was looking round the hall as if something was missing.

Olli opened his mouth to speak again, but he was suddenly cut off by an engine.

"Wait- isn't that-"

Screams began to fill the hall as the rumble grew louder and louder, as though the source of the noise was getting closer and closer…

And then a crash resonated through the hall, and more screams sounded, this time more desperate, and people were flinging themselves out of the way of the phantom car as it shrieked into the hall, casting the doors aside as if they weren't even there, and seeming to glare with its green headlamps at the people in the hall. The people who had been laughing with light hearts at the Stig jokes were now running for their lives, and Velma yelled, "Now, get him now!"

The Ferrari's engine increased tenfold on the decibel meter; the engine roared its disapproval at this impolite interruption and the driver, his face veiled but his body tense, swung the noble beast round and faced the opposition car, ready for the crash that would claim one victim and make one winner or else claim two victims. The phantom car surged forwards with the unbridled power of a tornado, and the Ferrari also threw itself forwards, the car oblivious to the doom that lay ahead but the driver and the spectators all too aware of the possible consequences this could have. Although there was no driver in the phantom car, it seemed to know what was coming, and swerved at the last second so that Fred only clipped the car's rear; plainly the mind controlling the thing knew of the damage to the front of the car. The rear bumper, having taken the full force of the Ferrari's blow, clattered bluntly to the floor, seeming to mark the phantom car's mortality, and Fred pushed the car as hard as it would go as it bolted forwards, and then they were so close that neither car had the faintest chance of swerving from the impact that would come so soon, and the phantom car simply propelled itself to its doom with all the force that its ethereal engine would give it…

WHAM.

The two cars collided, at speeds so severe that it seemed impossible any living thing could get out of it alive, and the phantom car spun into the wall and smashed into it, plaster raining onto the bent and broken body and the engine fading until its unearthly roar faded into nothing. The Ferrari's driver swung the wheel round, trying to keep control of the car, but it spun round as well, once, twice, three times and then abruptly smashed into the wall as well, and many people screamed as a little plaster rained down on the wrecked Scuderia as well. The rest of the gang rushed towards the crushed Ferrari, their priority making sure the driver was OK, but they were too late.

Fred swung the door open and got out, seemingly unscathed but a little dizzy from the car spinning. He leaned on the Scuderia to stay upright and Daphne ran forwards and threw her arms round him.

"Freddy- oh, Freddy, you're OK-"

Fred put one arm round her and she reached up and took his helmet off. Evidently, both had forgotten that Fred was posing as The Stig, whose identity was meant to be a secret; several people yelled as Daphne pulled the helmet away and exposed Fred's eyes under the helmet-liner.

"Ladies and gentlemen…"

The crowd turned from the mangled Scuderia to face the podium, where Olli was talking into the microphone.

"I would like to inform the crowd that Mystery Inc. has just solved the case of the Phantom Car, and that the driver of the Ferrari F430 Scuderia was not actually The Stig but Fred Jones, leader of Mystery. Inc and- I think I am right in saying this- probably his equal in driving skills, who was acting as The Stig in order to solve the case."

Many of the people in the crowd started whooping, and Fred pulled his helmet liner off to reveal a smile.

Velma walked over to the phantom car, which was completely dead and beyond any repair.

"This car is radio-controlled," Velma said, holding up a radio console and showing it to the crowd. "The person on the other end of the controller could choose to view the world in front of the car from a camera on the bonnet that I noticed when the car nearly ran me over. I guessed that might be there, but I also guessed that the person controlling the car preferred to be able to see the car in action- and be able to see what he was doing more clearly. And the target of the phantom car- to kill- was no-one other than our very own judge, James May."

James May, right on cue, walked out from behind the podium that had been hiding him and waved at the audience to show them that he was OK. Several people cheered, including the group of men in Subaru polo shirts, and James May singled them out for a wave.

"The car tried to kill James May on one occasion, but the problem was, the person behind the car didn't want to kill anyone innocent, just James May," Velma said. "James told me that Olli tried to guard him when the car attacked him this very morning, at about a quarter past midnight. The car veered away, because its target was May, not Olli. It targeted us solely because the person knew of our reputation- which, as usual, preceded us- and because they knew that we would be able to track them.

"Enough explanation. The person behind all this is-"

Velma walked over to one of the Morgans and opened the door, then stepped back as a man with a grey comb-over and wearing a dark suit tumbled out, clutching a remote control.

"-Harold Marchbanks," Velma finished, as the man stood up and tidied his suit.

"Yes," Harold Marchbanks said, glaring at her, then at James May. Velma gave a serene smile.

"Glare all you want, Mr Marchbanks. I don't care in the slightest."

Velma took the controller out of his hands and held it up so that the audience could see it clearly.

"Mr Marchbanks did this to try and kill James May. He didn't want to kill an innocent person, although he did have a go at killing me. The reason for all this is? He hates the British car show that James May is a presenter of. The simple and not really very satisfying or justifying reason for that is because Mr Marchbanks tried to become a presenter on it, but he was turned down because he is an avid Morgan fan and doesn't like supercars or hypercars. The job of his life was taken away from him- by James May, who won the place instead. This was the ideal way to get his own back, making out that the car was some kind of phantom. By getting his place here at the Vehicle Show, where James May is a judge, he got his dream opportunity. I noticed that his Morgan exhibition is a charity- nobody paid Mr Marchbanks to appear here, because the exhibit was too out of sync with the rest of the Show. But Mr Marchbanks couldn't turn this down, so he agreed to do his exhibition out of charity- or so the organisers thought. He also persuaded the organisers to keep the show open today, despite the risk of the phantom car. That was simply because he needed to do it today. He knew our plan would be ineffective- that is, the plan we claimed to have made, which was made up- and thought it would be plain sailing today.

"His Morgan exhibition was the ideal way to run it all- he could make out he was hiding from the phantom car in his Morgan, whereas he was actually controlling it out of sight and able to see clearly what was happening around the car. There's only one question remaining in my mind."

Fred looked over at Mr Marchbanks; the expression on his face told all.

"Someone stole our van, the Mystery Machine. It's quite a famous vehicle, and I wondered if you had anything to do with it being stolen, maybe to sabotage our investigation?"

Mr Marchbanks shook his head.

"No. I don't know about your van. I didn't ask anyone to steal it. You can check all my records and everything, I'll surrender my computer and phone and such if you need proof."

Fred let his head fall, stared at the ground and sighed.

"OK. Thank you, Mr Marchbanks. Take him away, Security."

A cheer exploded from the crowd as the two Security men walked forwards and took Mr Marchbanks away. A group of men from the car park went in and towed away the twisted, macabre wreckage of the so-called phantom car. James May identified it as a Koenigsegg CCX with a few chassis modifications and the badges and registration plates removed. The ghostly special effects were just those- green bulbs for the headlights, neon glow-in-the-dark paint to create the eerie glow, green Christmas lights hooked into the battery to create additional glow, and the engine was the standard CCX engine with a couple more turbochargers added to it to increase the power. Despite his lack of interest in supercars, Mr Marchbanks had created an astonishing car.

The men with the tow truck then had a look at the Scuderia. The poor car was wrecked- there was no way it could be salvaged.

"Look on the bright side- the driver's undamaged, and Mr Marchbanks can pay for the replacement Scuderia," Olli said, smiling. He patted Fred on the shoulder and smiled.

"I reckon you could replace The Stig any day- you drove that thing like a real racing driver! My only question is, it's completely destroyed- how did you get out of there unscathed?"

"Daphne's safety add-ons," Fred replied, smiling. "And the Stig helmet."

He held the helmet up and showed Olli the huge dent on top.

"If I hadn't had the helmet on, I wouldn't have gotten out unscathed."

Daphne clutched his arm protectively, and he looked round at her as if to say, "Relax! I'm OK!" She smiled and stayed hanging on.

Velma watched as James May walked over, a smile on his face making him look even more spaniel-like than usual, even though Velma knew it was a little mean. She hoped he wouldn't mind, but guessed he wouldn't.

"That was brilliant driving, Fred," James said, his eyes on the wrecked Ferrari. "And amazing salubriousness. Brilliant safety precautions, Miss Blake."

Daphne smiled.

"I'm a little disconcerted by all this," James said to Olli, who smiled.

"If some madman had tried to kill me, Mr May, I'd be disturbed too."

The two walked away to the staff area. Fred watched as the Ferrari was towed away, his eyes wistful.

"Wishing it was yours, Freddy?" Daphne teased gently.

"No. I'm wishing I had my wheels back."

The smiles vanished from the faces of the gang.

"We never found out who took the Mystery Machine," Velma said, her eyes on Mr Marchbanks as he was placed in the back of a police van. Scooby whimpered and Shaggy sighed.

"Like, there are plenty of Chevrolet vans, Freddy. Maybe we'll find a better one."

In their hearts, the gang knew that no van could ever replace the Mystery Machine. Not even a van that was ten times more reliable, ten times more modern, ten times faster. It would never be able to replace the Mystery Machine.

"And all our kit, that stuff cost thousands of dollars. Everything, like our log book, our database, Velma's laptop, our cell phones, and all the mystery-solving kit as well. Gone."

"The gang funds can pay for all that. My dad can step in if we need him to," Daphne said, although she knew that they would have to pay him back if they needed money for their equipment, and they were trying to become financially independent from Mr Blake, which was near impossible with Shaggy and Scooby's eating needs but which they had almost achieved.

"We get a reward from this mystery as well. And our gang funds are safe in our study," Velma added.

And, with no prospect of ever retrieving the van they had loved for so long, the gang walked away from the hall, minus one very special van and plus another solved mystery.

A/N: Sorry, this is quite a long chapter! I hope you're hanging on in there… Bear with me! Jazzola


	12. Chapter 12

Two days later and the crowds had arrived in their masses to see the vehicles that James May judged to be the best in the exhibition.

"The sections are- Best Engine, Best Bodywork, Best Spoiler, Most Comfortable to Drive, Vehicle of the Most Historical Significance, and simply, the Vehicle James May Liked the Most!" Olli called from the familiar podium, to cheers and whistles from all round the hall. James May himself smiled and took the podium from Olli.

"Thank you, Olli. Now, I will start with a small announcement, and, for those of you who have watched my car show, it actually is a short announcement and will not last in excess of one hour."

Many of the audience laughed, and the men in the Subaru polo shirts laughed the loudest, much to the amusement of some of the people around them.

"I would just simply like to add a section on to the ones that Olli announced for me, and show the audience our latest exhibition. As you all know, this Vehicle Show was under threat because of a man named Harold Marchbanks, the owner of the Morgan Exhibition-" he pointed to the area where the Morgan Exhibition used to be, and was now just a shell with the bashed Ferrari F430 Scuderia Fred had crashed on it- "and I would just like to draw the audience's attention to the Ferrari that is there now. That Ferrari was driven, at estimated speeds of around fifty miles an hour, which I would like to say is generally fatal and could well have proved so for the driver of the Ferrari, into the so-called Phantom Car that was plaguing the exhibition and threatened to kill me, nearly succeeding. The Phantom Car was controlled by Harold Marchbanks, who is now in prison and ready to be charged with several crimes. But the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, our new exhibition, had a less malicious driver, namely Fred Jones, leader of Mystery Inc. It was thanks to Mystery Inc. and their well-hatched and rather cunning plan that the Phantom Car was subdued and its driver taken into prison. If that had not happened, well, ladies and gentlemen, I might not be standing here today to tell you this."

The Subaru men looked horrified, and many faces in the crowd looked sombre.

"However, I am. Thanks to Mystery Inc.!"

A cheer rose from the crowd as the four teens and dog made their way up to the podium, smiling and seemingly happy, although Fred was still moping for the Mystery Machine.

"And I did say that there was a new small competition that I have decided to make. It's not one that the Vehicle Show has ever seen before, but it's one that, given the current circumstances, needs to be put in and will probably bring quite a lot of pleasure to a certain group of people. It's called the Van that Olli Accidentally Stole and Now Needs to Be Returned to Mystery Inc.!"

Many people in the audience laughed, but as the heads turned and a very familiar van made its way into the hall, more members of the audience laughed at the shout of "THE MYSTERY MACHINE!" that came from Fred and his rapid descent from the podium and run over to the van.

"Um, Freddy, while you're over there with the van…" Olli called into the microphone, taking over from James May.

Laughter once again filled the hall, and Fred looked a little sheepish, but nowhere near as sheepish as Olli looked.

"You remember the name of this particular competition, ladies and gentlemen- it is the Van that Olli Accidentally Stole and Now Needs to Be Returned to Mystery Inc. competition. And that's what happened. Mystery Inc. were forced to leave their van unattended and unlocked while they were in the process of solving the mystery, and I mistook the van for the Chevrolet Sportvan Deluxe that was due to be delivered to the Vehicle Show for the Chevrolet exhibition. Therefore, I took the van. I thought that it was a replica of the Mystery Machine, you see. Fred will be very pleased to know that the van has had a replacement engine put in, new brakes and a few other parts of the van replaced or mended. It took a bit of a battering on the way here, and it was probably due for repairs when I actually took it."

"It needed some work," laughed Velma, who was wondering how much delight Fred could pack into his expression before he fainted of joy.

"Anyway, since we took the van and Fred had to drive that Ferrari into the Phantom Car for us, we thought that we could just add the van repairs in free of charge without having to take any money away from your reward for helping us. Thanks, guys, and I'm sorry."

The audience erupted into applause and the rest of the gang walked over to join Fred in the Mystery Machine, which was in pristine condition, having had a wash and a few repairs. Fred turned the keys in the ignition after a nod from Olli and, to more cheers and applause than they thought the hall could withstand, the gang drove the Mystery Machine out into the car park, the gang reunited with their van.

Velma sat back in the soft upholstery (she noted that it had had a vacuum and the seats had been given a little more stuffing) and smiled.

"You know what song this reminds me of?"

""All's Well That Ends Well"? suggested Daphne.

"No. I was thinking of that lean mean song. The triumph of getting our van back."

Shaggy grinned from the back.

"Like, it's a lean, mean Mystery Machine…"

And the five inhabitants laughed as the van drew up in a parking space, the doors opened and they headed back to the Vehicle Show they had saved.

Fred turned as they walked back, with a huge smile still on his face, and held the keys up, pressing the lock button. With a soft "beep-beep", the doors clicked shut. He put the keys back in his pocket, still gazing at his beloved van, and walked back in just in time to hear the words:

"And the Car that James May Likes the Most is… the crashed Ferrari F430 Scuderia, on grounds of character!"

THE END


End file.
